Julie of the Wolves: A 5th grade Literature Focus Unit
Created by:
Meganmarie Pinkerton
FEATURED SELECTION Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George. New York: Harper & Row Publishers Inc, 1972. Julie of the Wolves is written at a 4 th ­6 th grade level. This Newberry­Award­Winning novel written by Jean Craighead George is the story of Miyax/Julie a young Eskimo girl in Alaska. At age nine Julie is forced to live with her aunt until she turns 13 and marries Daniel. She decides to flee her village. She has already lost her parents and has now become trapped in an unhappy marriage. She sets out hoping to reach San Francisco and her pen pal, Amy, who calls her Julie, Miyax's "gussak" (white) name. But once she's outside the safety of the village, Miyax/Julie becomes lost in the Alaskan wilderness. She must use the lessons of Yup’ik life from her father to survive. She is eventually accepted (and aided) by a pack of wolves that becomes her new "family." RELATED M ATERIALS ~Julie by Jean Craighead George. New York: HarperCollins, 1994. A sequel to Julie of the Wolves, Julie addresses the issue of change in a person’s life. This book continues on to explain what happens to Julie when she decides to return home to her people. Things are not how they used to be and she must find a way to reconcile the old ways with the new. ~Julie’s Wolf Pack by Jean Craighead George. New York: HarperCollins Children’s Books, 1997. Lost in the wilderness Julie was saved by the wolf Amaroq and his wolf pack. Now the wolves have a story from their own point of view. The young, fearless but
inexperienced Kapu must now lead and protect the wolves from threats of famine and disease. Kapu must also deal with rivals who are trying to overthrow him. His strength will determine the well­being and survival of the pack. ~Gray Wolf, Red Wolf by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent. New York: Clarion Books, 1990. In this information book Dorothy Hinshaw Patent presents a revealing look at the different types of wolves in America today. It describes the different types of wolves as well as the characteristics and behaviors accompanied by wonderful photographs. ~Alaska: The Land and the People by Evelyn I. Butler and George A. Dale. New York: Viking Press, 1957. This is an informational book on Alaska and its people; it is a sympathetic yet critical observation of every phase of Alaskan life. Excellent photographs add to the vivid impression of a fascinating people inhabiting a land of dramatic geography and climate. ~Dwellers of the Tundra: Life in an Alaskan Eskimo Village by Aylette Jenness. New York: Crowell­Collier Press, 1970. This is an information book on the village of Makumuit in Alaska, describing their lifestyle and surroundings. This fascinating book captures the texture of everyday existence in a community constantly threatened by hunger, sickness, madness and accident, a world where the influence of Continental America has brought a higher standard of living but a lower sense of personal wealth. Additional Reading: Quetico Wolf by Bob and Rae Oetting, In a Different Light: Growing up in a Yup’ik Eskimo Village in Alaska by Carolyn Meyer, Wolf at the Door by Barbara Corcoran, Look to the North: A Wolfe Pup Diary by Jean Craighead George. GOALS
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
Students will gain a better understanding of life in Alaska and be able to compare that to their own life
Students will gain a better understanding of Alaskan climate and geography.
Students will study and research wolves, their habits and habitats.
Students will study the English language and words that are derivations of the Yupik language.
Students will successfully complete character studies of the people and animals from the book.
Students will study and learn survival skills.
Students will use information from the text and additional readings to make inferences about the story.
Strategies and Skills: ­The teacher will ask questions and model ways to find information and make inferences in a story. ­The teacher will model and teach efficient research methods. ­The teacher will start grand discussions and provide some writing prompts for response journals to encourage deeper thinking and better understandings of the literature. ­The teacher will present new vocabulary from the book and discuss how some English words come from other languages. Standards: English­ 5.1.2 Use word origins to determine the meaning of unknown words. 5.2.4 Draw inferences, conclusions, or generalizations about text and support them with textual evidence and prior knowledge. Science­ 5.4.4 Explain that in any particular environment, some kinds of plants and animals survive well, some do not survive as well, and some cannot survive at all. 5.4.5 Explain how changes in an organism’s habitat are sometimes beneficial and sometimes harmful. Social Studies­ 5.5.1 Describe basic needs that individuals have in order to survive — such as the need for food, water, shelter, and safety — and give examples of how people in early America adapted* to meet basic needs. UNIT PLAN Pre­reading Activity: v KWL chart: ­The teacher will ask the students to think of everything that they know about Alaska, Eskimos and wolves. ­The students will break up into groups and make lists of what they know. Then the groups will share and explain their lists, while putting the information into a KWL chart for each subject on an overhead. ­Then the class will work on filling out the “what they want to know section” as a group. ­The teacher will pass out pictures and articles about Alaska, Eskimos, and wolves to each group. The students will find two new pieces of information and share it with the class and add it to the chart. Grouping: Whole Group, Small Groups
Reading Activity: v Teacher will read the first 10 pages of the novel aloud, then one section at the beginning of each week aloud to the class, stopping periodically to examine key elements. v Students will read pages by assigned date on their own for homework, or during independent reading time. Sometimes they will read with partners. Accommodations: Students with difficulties or at lower reading levels may read with a buddy or listen to chapters on tape. The teacher may also provide summaries for each chapter. Grouping: Group, Individuals, Buddy Reading Responding Activity: v Students will write in a reader response journal at least three times a week. ­They will be given questions and prompts for one of the responses. One topic could be (p 23­49) “Kapugen gives advice to Miyax, “Change your ways when fear seizes you, for it usually means you are doing something wrong.” What do you think of this advice? Does it work? Another topic could be (49­70) “What do you discover when you compare Miyax and the wolves? What surprises you most about the similarities and differences? Other prompts could ask students to observe animals like Julie and write their observations, or ask them to visualize and describe the main character and the setting of the story (88­104). ­The remaining responses are their own personal thoughts, predictions, questions, observations, and connections. v The students will also participate in grand discussions after the teacher’s reading and small group discussions after a few of the assigned readings. These discussions can include predictions; discuss new knowledge discoveries or how the reading made them feel. ­One topic discusses survival and traditions (23­49) “In order to survive, Miyax relies on the traditional Eskimo lore she learned from her father. Talk about your family and its traditions. Which ones do you like or not like?” Another (129­151) “Where do you think Miyax should go next? Tell why. What do you think she will do? If you could advise Miyax right now, what would your group want to say to her?” Grouping: Individual, Class, Small Groups Exploring Activity: v Word wall words to add: igloo, parka, ulu, tundra, eclipse, lemming, lichens, scarce, snare, barren, and caribou etc. Students will also find
words as they are reading and write them in their journals, to later be added to the word wall. v Derivations: Discuss how many English words come from different languages. These are called derivations. As people migrate around the world, they bring their own languages with them. Igloo, parka, and ulu are words we use in English that originally come from Alaska. We use kindergarten, ecology, and phooey from German. Look up familiar words in the dictionary and find out which language they originally come from. What other words in Julie of the Wolves do you think originally comes from Yupik? v Setting Study­ In class students will provide a few examples comparing two settings from the book; life at Daniel’s, Aunt Martha’s house, life on the tundra, and Amy’s house to their own home town life. Then each student will complete a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting the three settings. v Science Survival­ As a class discuss how many animals in Alaska have adapted to survive—rabbits or fox have white fur, polar bears and seals have blubber ect. Perform the blubber mitten experiment to show students what it would be like to have blubber. Then have students list other animals and how they have adapted to their surroundings in Alaska or near their home town. They will also create a packing list of things that they would need to survive in Alaska to turn in. Grouping: Class, Individual. Applying Activity: v Character Sketch: Groups of 4 or 5 students will be given a character (Julie, Kapu, Amaroq, Jello, Daniel, Kapugen, and Aunt Martha) and a piece of butcher paper. Using the information from the story they will draw and color a picture of their character and include a written character sketch to go on the bottom, discussing personality, who they are, past actions, and claims to fame. They will present the project to the class. v Final individual project: Students will create a project based on summarizing the story or parts of the story, life in Alaska, or wolves. ­ Students will create a project enhancing their understanding of the content. They can create a character scrapbook, dress up and report on a character, make a diorama of a favorite scene, or write a short story from the perspective of another character. ­ Students will research the traditional ways of the Yupik people. Some may want to research hunting, family life, arts and crafts, or storytelling. The student produces an object from his/her research—a copy of a traditional mask, a tool the Yup'ik used, or a diorama of a village. ­Students will research wolves, their characteristics and lives. They can go visit a zoo or watch a video clip of wolves. Visit Megan and Josh
Gallmeyer’s website or other information websites and learn more. Then present an oral report on wolves, or write a fictional story about wolves. v Either the class will collectively write a letter to a pen pal in Alaska, or individuals will write letters. At Epals http://epals.com. As a class they will also discuss drilling at ANWAR and write a letter to their representatives. Grouping: Smalls groups, Individuals, Whole Class TIME SCHEDULE day 1 day 2 day 3 day 4 day 5 ­KWL Chart ­Teacher reads p. 5­15 (40 min) ­read to p. 23 for tomorrow day 6 ­Group Discussion over first reading. ­Journal Writing time (30 min) day 7 ­Word Wall ­Reading time/ Journal Writing time (30 min) Pages 23­49 ­Derivations ­Journal Writing Activity time (25 min) (10 min) day 8 day 9 day 10 Pages 49­70 ­Teacher reads 49­61 ­Class Discussion ­Read 61­70 for tomorrow (25 min) day 11 ­Science Survival activity ­Reading/ Journal time (30 min) Pages 70­88 ­Journal Writing time (10 min) ­Reading time ­Group Discussion (25 min) Pages 88­104 ­Journal Writing time ­Setting Venn Diagram activity (40 min) day 12 day 13 day 14 day 15 ­Teacher reads 109­122 ­Class Discussion ­Read 122­129 for tomorrow ­Introduce Character Sketches (30 min) day 16 Pages 109­129 ­Journal Writing/Reading time ­Start on character sketch in groups (35 min) ­Group Discussion ­Work on character sketch ­Introduce Final project Ideas (40 min) Pages 129­151 ­Journal Writing time ­Finish up character sketch and present to class (45 min) ­Computer lab to research for project ­Reading time (50 min) day 17 day 18 day 19 ­Teacher reads 151­161 ­Journal Writing (20 min) Pages 161­170 ­Group Discussion (15 min) ­Present Final Projects in Class (50 min) ­Finish presenting ­Write to pen pals & ANWAR (30 min)
ASSIGNMENT CHECKLIST ___ Journal entries during unit ___ Derivations Lists ___ Packing List ___ Setting Venn Diagram ___ Group Character Study ___ Final Project Presentation Ideas for Focus Unit taken from Finn, P. (2001). Literature Circle Guide: Julie of the Wolves. New York: Scholastic Hart, M. (2005). 101 Ways to Love a Book. Westminster: Teacher Created Resources Inc. http://surfaquarium.com/eiditarod/2004/race_supplies.doc